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US Investigating Iran War Critic Trita Parsi, Co-Founder Of Non-Interventionist Think Tank

Via Middle East Eye

The Trump administration has launched an investigation into prominent Iran war critic Trita Parsi, according to a report in the Free Press.

According to US officials and documents reviewed by the pro-Trump outlet, officials are looking into the possibility of deporting Parsi, who holds both Iranian and Swedish citizenship.

via the Quincy Institute

Parsi, who is co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and co-founded the National Iranian-American Council (NIAC), has been a vocal opponent of the ongoing US attacks on Iran.

A Trump official told the Free Press that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been "very clear" in his intentions to tackle “people who support adversaries of ours and whose work furthers their agenda and undermines our security.

“Anyone who seeks to undermine the US, we're taking a hard look at," the official said.

Since the beginning of the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February, the Trump administration has increasingly targeted figures of Iranian descent in the US.

In April, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter Sarina were detained and had their residency permits rescinded after they were – incorrectly – identified as relatives of former Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani by far-right influencer Laura Loomer.

Despite denying their links to Soleimani, the pair remain in custody in Texas.

The US also detained and revoked the green cards of relatives of former Iranian minister Masoumeh Ebtekar in April.

Parsi is a critic of the Islamic Republic whose family fled to Sweden to escape persecution in Iran. He has faced attacks from Iranian monarchists and pro-Trump figures over his opposition to the conflict.

He has also been highly critical of US backing for what many call Israel's genocide in Gaza and its attacks on Lebanon.

Speaking to Middle East Eye in May, Parsi warned that the US's ability to secure a deal with Iran would ultimately come down to its ability to restrain Israeli attacks in the region.

"If Trump either cannot or will not do so, then the value of any agreement with Washington comes sharply into question," he said.

A couple of years ago, the Quincy Institute, an anti-interventionist think tank, tallied which experts most often testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee between 2021 and 2024, under both Democrats and Republicans. The second most frequently invited think tank was…

— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) June 9, 2026

"A ceasefire that leaves Israel free to reignite hostilities at will – while the United States remains unable to prevent itself from being dragged back into conflict – offers little assurance of stability. Under such circumstances, the utility of a deal with Washington diminishes dramatically."

MEE contacted the US State Department and the Department of Homeland Security for comment, but had received no response from either at time of publication.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/11/2026 - 22:35

“Total burn down.” That sounds like what Karen Bass and a leftist City Council have done, metaphorically, to Los Angeles.

The retracted Intelligence Community Assessments selectively excluded evidence and intelligence, mischaracterized sources “to suppress alternative analyses,” omitted key information related to source quality and relied on an “ethically flawed medical study,” Gabbard’s office said in a memo to congressional leaders. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called out The New York Times for publishing a "hit piece" from frustrated ex-employees.

We join the people of Los Angeles and California in welcoming the World Cup to LA!

JPM Call With Axon Reveals Race To Fortify U.S. Data Centers Against Kamikaze Drone Swarms

Axon Enterprise is moving beyond its legacy police body-camera and TASER products and rapidly expanding into drones, robotics, and counter-drone systems, positioning itself as a top supplier in the public safety sector, according to JPMorgan analysts.

In a note on Wednesday, JPM analysts led by Joseph Cardoso said recent FAA rule changes regarding beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone operations have removed a key barrier to scaling drones for first-responder programs, while expanding demand for counter-drone threat technology across law enforcement, critical infrastructure, and large public venues.

Cardoso and his team hosted Axon's Jeff Kunins, Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer, on a call earlier this week and focused on the evolving U.S. drone market, industry trends, and Axon's positioning:

1. Regulation finally catches up, driving inflection point for DFR and CUAS. The past year represents an inflection for drone-as-first-responder (DFR) and counter-drone (C-UAS), anchored by regulatory changes, including: 1) FAA/TSA rule changes in Aug-25 related to Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), which removed the requirement for human observers, a prerequisite that had been a barrier to scaling, since prior rules mandated a oneto-one human observer per drone, undermining the core value proposition of faster and cheaper response times relative to human responders; and 2) the Safer Skies Act, passed in Dec-25, extending drone mitigation authority to select state & local agencies, an important milestone with standalone detection only functional in nuanced situations. While still early, changes have been characterized as seminal rather than incremental, reflecting regulation catching up to the technology, with the SFPD, for example, already conducting DFR missions in dense urban corridors and overall deployments expanding rapidly

2. Counter-drone mitigation boasts an expansive toolkit, albeit with no "winner" to date. The mitigation technology landscape was characterized as a land rush, with heavy investment underway and no settled winners to date. For example, a wide range of tools is available in the market today, including RF jamming, cyber takeover, directed energy lasers, interceptor drones, and kinetics (both destructive and non-destructive), none of which have demonstrated a high success rate across both mitigation effectiveness and cost, particularly against the backdrop of what can be safely deployed in crowded civilian environments. As a result, the market is expected to undergo a rapid iterate-and-fail evolution over an extended period, making it a critical decision for companies to determine where to focus.

3. Highlights tale of two stacks with integrated DFR and open counterdrone. Relative to DFR, the importance of a vertically integrated stack was emphasized, particularly given the need for the operating experience to be tightly coupled with the drone itself, which drove Axon's decision to closely align and partner with Skydio. By contrast, counter-drone will likely remain an open ecosystem for some time, given the unknowns around which cocktail of sensors and effectors will deliver the best results related to producing superior detection and mitigation outcomes from any arbitrary hardware mix.

4. Made in America expected to be a durable tailwind. The durability of American-made policy tailwinds was underscored, as Axon highlighted: 1) companies like Skydio have surpassed Asia-based alternatives on price-performance and product-market fit for law enforcement use cases; and 2) restrictions on foreign drone and camera suppliers due to data-security concerns, have broad bipartisan support

5. Beyond blue lights, drone opportunity expected to be sizeable across enterprise use cases. The enterprise opportunity for drones was characterized as large, immediate, and growing fast off a small base. Use cases highlighted include perimeter security for data centers, logistics networks, and corporate campuses, as well as operational applications such as automated indoor inventory checks, with Axon noting hourly drone patrols at its HQ and inventory checks at its warehouses. On the counter-drone side, demand is already concrete in corrections (contraband drops) and increasing for critical infrastructure, with recent Middle East drone attacks on data centers cited as a motivator for U.S. operators to seek prophylactic capabilities. Importantly, security adoption is expected to come first, followed by operational use cases that broaden the TAM over time.

6. Axon is participating across multiple drone opportunity fronts. Axon is participating across three areas related to drones: 1) outdoor DFR, with Skydio integrated into Fusus real-time crime center (RTCC), Axon Evidence, and the rest of the portfolio, such as body cameras (request button) and 911 solutions; 2) indoor tactical drones for SWAT-type use cases; and 3) counter-drone via Dedrone, which combines first-party hardware (RF sensors, RF mitigation) and software with third-party hardware (additional sensors and effectors), an area where Axon noted its leadership across state & local as well as FedCiv markets, including deployment in every NFL stadium.

Recall that we have been tracking Axon's drone deals with Ukrainian companies and observing how the company is positioning itself as a key importer of battlefield-tested drone and counter-drone technology.

In late January, we noted that the global data center buildout, power grid modernization wave, and broader AI infrastructure boom were missing a critical layer of low-altitude air defense against small drones. One month later, multiple data centers in the Gulf region were hit by Iranian one-way attack drones, underscoring how quickly that threat moved from scenario to reality (read here).

Our view is that the U.S. has major air-defense gaps across data centers, power assets, logistics hubs, and other critical infrastructure. Those vulnerabilities could be exploited by bad actors, creating massive demand for counter-UAS systems to fill gaps in air defense.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/11/2026 - 22:10

David Peterson’s struggles on the mound hit another low point Wednesday night.

The Phillies are trying to fix their outfield.

The Knicks beat the Spurs in a stunning comeback during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday.

The Knicks beat the Spurs in a stunning comeback during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday.

Aroldis Chapman last pitched for the Yankees in the third-to-last regular-season game of the 2022 season, and he wants an apology.

The collision of the most talented USMNT in history with hosting a World Cup isn't a once-in-a-generation occurrence. It’s something that happens once, period, if that.

This column is dedicated to the late Al McGuire, who, as an NBC college hoops analyst, showed up not knowing any of the players, but he sure knew the game.

Jerome Winston Parker, who appeared on video in a viral confrontation outside Karmelo Anthony's murder trial, was arrested.

The Mets won a game. So let’s not bury the lede. That hasn’t happened often enough in 2026. Not even close. 

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki should stick to baseball instead of soccer.

The alleged thieves were busted trying to hawk the stolen cards online, tracked by cops using clever tactics.

Florida Supreme Court Allows New GOP Congressional Map To Remain In Place

Via American Greatness,

The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to block a new congressional map approved by Republican lawmakers earlier this year.

The map allows the districts to remain in place as the state prepares for upcoming elections.

The decision marks a victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican leaders who advanced the mid-decade redistricting effort following a US Supreme Court ruling involving Louisiana’s congressional map.

DeSantis signed the revised map into law in May after the nation’s highest court ruled that Louisiana’s congressional plan, which included an additional majority-Black district, violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

The new Florida map could strengthen Republicans’ position in the state’s congressional delegation.

Republicans currently hold a 20-8 advantage in Florida’s US House seats, and the revised districts could potentially expand that margin to as much as 24-4.

The legal challenge was brought by several Democratic groups that sued the state shortly after the map was enacted.

A Florida judge previously rejected efforts to stop the map from taking effect.

On Wednesday, the Florida Supreme Court upheld that decision in a 6-1 ruling, according to The Hill, refusing a request for a temporary injunction against the new districts.

The ruling means the map will remain in place while other legal challenges continue.

Opponents of the map wanted the court to require Florida election officials to continue using the congressional districts from the previous election cycle during the state’s August primaries.

The court  declined that request.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/11/2026 - 21:45

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani left the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday with left knee inflammation, the team announced.

Spelling and McDermott finalized their divorce in November.